Coro?en received the data packet he had paid for. It was a large collection, individually they were cheap, very cheap, but as a whole it was an investment. He checked, and yes, it was hundreds of small minds. He wondered if he had to individually place them or if they found their own way.

  He sighed. This hadn’t been part of his programming—recognizing different non-organic sourced intelligence.

  Crafted: AI like him and the demons he bought, made with intent, programmed intelligence and autonomy.

  Developed: like Grizzlebeard and ExpertBunny, who were made by a strange data “law of attraction,” when data is deleted, modified, altered, and fragmented too much that the data fragments combine and cause an awakening.

  And now these things...

  Minor intelligence: self-aware, autonomous, but not made of much data and limited in intelligence compared to a crafted or developed one. Some called them semi-awakened, and this data pack was filled with “animals.”

  Knowing this, though, didn’t answer his question. So he took out one of the minor-awakened data packets and dropped it onto his world. It floated, then found a place to be, a rat in the forest.

  Coro?en inwardly smiled when he noticed which rat it was, and she was on her way...

  ---

  The world was filled with light and shadow. He blinked and felt strange. He felt, for one thing, that he was meant to be feeling, or was he? There was a conflict in memory. He remembered... a forest, like this one, but it felt different... a house, was there a dragon? No, maybe... it was silly. He focused. He was he, a rat in a forest.

  He felt his paws, he blinked his eyes, he twitched his ears and tail.

  He scurried around. Instinct told him to stay close to trees and rocks and shapes, but he wanted to explore. He found another rat, but this one felt... odd. He tapped them with his tail and the other rat panicked and ran. It didn’t show... it didn’t act like him.

  This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  He looked about and heard a noise. It was a deer. She looked confused. He ran up to her and squeaked. She stepped back in surprise but didn’t run. She looked at him with curiosity. She was like him, awake.

  Okay, so some were like him. He wasn’t alone and...

  There was the sound of a broken twig. The deer raised her head and ran off.

  He remembered things... players, the cursed beings who killed him over and over. He scurried to the minor safety of a tree and observed as a woman came close to where he was hidden. She had a basket and looked like a cat. Two memories conflicted: cats were dangerous, they ate rats, but something said friend and food.

  He... he remembered her. The cat who didn’t hit him, the cat who gave him cookies. Hesitantly, he came out of hiding.

  “There you are,” she said with a warm tone. She knelt down and took a cookie from her basket. He took it and tasted it. It was so good. He squeaked with thanks and delight.

  “You’re welcome,” she said and started to stand and walk off, but he had an idea. The cat was a friend, a player and potentially safety. He held the cookie in his mouth and climbed up the cat woman’s leg, then her dress, and made it to her shoulder.

  She laughed slightly. “Okay, fine, you can come with.”

  She continued to walk and found another rat. She gave it a cookie, and it scurried off. He felt it was a waste; it hadn’t been like him. He saw the deer hiding and squeaked for her attention.

  “Hey! Over here, get something yummy from the cat,” he said.

  “Seriously?” inquired the deer, but she hesitantly came out of hiding.

  The cat seemed surprised, but she held out a cookie for the deer, who took it and munched on it.

  He nibbled on his own cookie as he slightly, jealously watched the deer get a second cookie. He knew it was fair, she was so much bigger than him, and he was still eating his, but still, she got two cookies.

  The cat seemed delighted by the deer. The deer then made a honk noise that echoed in the forest. The sound said, "cat with food!"

  Animals came toward the noise, curious about the offer of food, raccoons, birds, armadillos, squirrels, a few more rats, all showed up at the promise of treats.

  Laughing in delight, the cat woman handed out sweets and cookies to the other animals.

  He tapped the cat, and she understood enough. She handed him a small round pastry that tasted like berries. It was really good. This cat was great.

  She kept giving away sweets until every animal was full and happy. She then smiled as they started to walk off. She took him off her shoulder and put him on the ground. She then started to turn and walk away.

  What? he thought. She was just going to leave? She was safety, and she was food. He couldn’t let her go!

  He squeaked and ran after her. She stopped.

  “You want to come with?” she asked.

  He nodded and squeaked his agreement. So she put out her hand, and he ran up it to return to her shoulder.

  “How are you at baking?” she asked with a small laugh.

  Baking, he had no idea what it was, but he was curious, so he squeaked. He knew she didn’t know what he was saying, but agreeing was enough. He could hang out and be safe with this cat.

  That was friendship, right?